Compañía Minera Doña Inés de Collahuasi SCM has announced a revised Mineral Resource estimate with an increase to total Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves.
Xstrata Plc owns a 44% share of Compañía Minera Doña Inés de Collahuasi SCM whilst Anglo American Plc 44% and a Japanese consortium headed by Mitsui the remaining 12%.
The new Measured, Indicated and Inferred Resource estimate totals 7. 094 billion tonnes at an average grade of 0.82% copper and 269 parts per million (ppm) molybdenum, using a 0.34% copper cut-off grade. This represents 58 million tonnes of contained copper metal.
The total tonnage of the Mineral Resource has increased by 40%, the equivalent of over 2 billion tonnes, compared to the estimate published in December 2009 and taking into account the 47 million tonnes mined during the first six months of 2010. The increase is the result of new drill results, modeling changes and metal price assumption adjustments.
Mining reserves have increased by 315 million tonnes to a total of 2.453 billion tonnes at a grade of 0.82% copper compared to December 2009.
Compañía Minera Doña Inés de Collahuasi SCM is Chile’s third largest copper mine and produced 535,000 tonnes of fine copper in 2009.